Tiger 131 - Sd Kfz 181 Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf E

Tiger 131 was in service with 3 Platoon (Troop), 1 Kompanie, Schwere Panzer Abteilung 504, German Army. It was captured by 48 RTR, A Squadron, 4 Troop, at Djebel Djaffa, Tunisia, on 21st April 1943. This tank was the first Tiger to be captured intact by British.

A painstaking restoration of Tiger 131 started in the 1990s which was eventually completed with help from the National Heritage Lottery Fund. Great care was taken to recreate the original camouflage and markings. The Tiger ran under its’ own power for the first time in 2004.

This tank was used in the 2014 film Fury, the first time a real Tiger has appeared in a feature film since Theirs Is the Glory in 1946 and They Were Not Divided (1950).

German World War Two Tiger Tank

M4 Sherman Tank

Roughly 50,000 Sherman tanks and thousands more derivative vehicles were used by the Western Allies during World War Two from 1941 onward. To learn more about the M4 Sherman visit Wikipedia

Sd Kfz 141/1 Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf L

This tank was transported to Naples from Nuremburg by rail, and shipped to Bengazi on the 'Lerica', arriving on 18th July 1942. It was issued to the 8th Panzer Regiment as a replacement tank and brought the strength of the 15th Panzer Division up to 65 tanks by the beginning of August 1942. It arrived at the front between 28th and 31st July and probably fought at Alam Halfa. By 26th October the 15th Panzer Division had only 39 tanks left. Information on the manufacture and service of this tank came from Tom Jentz. Subsequently captured by the British Army.

Visit The Tank Museum's website to learn more

Panzer III

Tankfest 2016

M18 Hellcat

The M18 Hellcat (officially designated the 76mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 or M18 GMC for short) was an American tank destroyer of World War II, used in the Italian, European, and Pacific theatres, and in the Korean War. To learn more visit the Hellcat page on Wikipedia

M3 Stuart Light Tank or the Honey

Named after Confederate General JEB Stuart, the M3 was an American light tank armed with a 37mm main gun. The M3 Stuart was mainly used for screening and reconnaissance duties. The Stuart, also known as the General Stuart to British tank crews, was given the nickname Honey because of its reliability compared to British tanks of the period that were notoriously badly designed and constructed.

Soviet T-34/85 Medium Tank

Quite possibly the best tank design of World War Two, the Soviet T-34 medium tank entered service in 1940. Originally the T-34 was armed with a 76mm gun. The later variant, designated the T-34/85 was equipped with a more powerful 85mm gun and was more heavily armoured increasing its weight from 29 tons to 35 tons. Around 80,000 T-34s of all types were built and the tank saw widespread service in armies and conflicts around the world after World War Two.

T-34/85 Soviet Medium Tank with Polish Eagle

T-34/85 Soviet Medium Tank with Polish Eagle

T-34/85 Soviet Medium Tank with Polish Eagle

Tiger 131 - Tankfest 2016

Fury Sherman - Tankfest 2016

Fury Sherman - Tankfest 2016

Fury Sherman - Tankfest 2016

Tiger 131 - Rear

The rear of the Tiger tank held an engine compartment flanked by two separate rear compartments each containing a fuel tank, radiator and fans. There is something of an urban myth as to the Tiger’s weak spot being its rear armour. However, the rear armour was 80mm thick, exactly the same as the side armour. The engine itself was an under-powered Maybach HL 210 P 45 – 12 cylinder / 650hp. Later variants go the the slightly improved Maybach HL 230 P 45 – 12 cylinder / 700hp engine.

Tiger Tank - Rear

The rear of the Tiger tank held an engine compartment flanked by two separate rear compartments each containing a fuel tank, radiator and fans. There is something of an urban myth as to the Tiger’s weak spot being its rear armour. However, the rear armour was 80mm thick, exactly the same as the side armour. The engine itself was an under-powered Maybach HL 210 P 45 – 12 cylinder / 650hp. Later variants go the the slightly improved Maybach HL 230 P 45 – 12 cylinder / 700hp engine.

Tiger Tank - Rear

The rear of the Tiger tank held an engine compartment flanked by two separate rear compartments each containing a fuel tank, radiator and fans. There is something of an urban myth as to the Tiger’s weak spot being its rear armour. However, the rear armour was 80mm thick, exactly the same as the side armour. The engine itself was an under-powered Maybach HL 210 P 45 – 12 cylinder / 650hp. Later variants go the the slightly improved Maybach HL 230 P 45 – 12 cylinder / 700hp engine.

Tiger 131 - Tankfest 2016

Panzer III - Tankfest 2016

German Leopard 1 Main Battle Tank (MBT)

German Leopard 1 Main Battle Tank (MBT)

German Leopard 1 Main Battle Tank (MBT)

Vehicle Conservation Centre (VCC)

The Tank Museum’s Vehicle Conservation Centre (VCC) houses over 100 vehicles, many of which have never been on public display before.

Vehicle Conservation Centre (VCC)

The Tank Museum’s Vehicle Conservation Centre (VCC) houses over 100 vehicles, many of which have never been on public display before.

The Big Wing

12 Spitfires display at Flying Legends 2017, IWM Duxford

B-17 Sally-B

Europe's only operational B-17 Flying Fortress, the Sally B has starred in TV series We'll Meet Again and movie Memphis Belle.

V-1 flying bomb

The V-1 missile or V-1 flying bomb (German: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1")—also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug.

The first V-1 was launched at London on 13 June 1944, one week after (and prompted by) the successful Allied landings in Europe. At its peak, more than one hundred V-1s a day were fired at south-east England, 9,521 in total, decreasing in number as sites were overrun until October 1944, when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was overrun by Allied forces. After this, the V-1s were directed at the port of Antwerp and other targets in Belgium, with 2,448 V-1s being launched. The attacks stopped only a month before the war in Europe ended, when the last launch site in the Low Countries was overrun on 29 March 1945.

The British operated an arrangement of air defences, including anti-aircraft guns and fighter aircraft, to intercept the bombs before they reached their targets as part of Operation Crossbow, while the launch sites and underground V-1 storage depots were targets of strategic bombing.

The aircraft was delivered to the United States Army Air Force on 19 June 1945 as 44-85784. In 1954 the Institut Géographique National in France bought the plane for use as a survey aircraft. In 1975 she moved to England and was registered with the CAA as G-BEDF to be restored to wartime condition. The ‘Sally B’ was used in the 1990 film Memphis Belle as one of 5 flying B-17s needed for various film scenes, and it was used to replicate the real Memphis Belle in one scene. Half of the aircraft is still in the Memphis Belle livery, following restoration of the ‘Sally B’ nose art and the black and yellow checkerboard pattern on the cowling of the starboard inner (no 3) engine, carried as a tribute to Elly Sallingboe’s companion Ted White, whose Harvard aircraft had the same pattern on its cowling.

The aircraft was delivered to the United States Army Air Force on 19 June 1945 as 44-85784. In 1954 the Institut Géographique National in France bought the plane for use as a survey aircraft. In 1975 she moved to England and was registered with the CAA as G-BEDF to be restored to wartime condition. The ‘Sally B’ was used in the 1990 film Memphis Belle as one of 5 flying B-17s needed for various film scenes, and it was used to replicate the real Memphis Belle in one scene. Half of the aircraft is still in the Memphis Belle livery, following restoration of the ‘Sally B’ nose art and the black and yellow checkerboard pattern on the cowling of the starboard inner (no 3) engine, carried as a tribute to Elly Sallingboe’s companion Ted White, whose Harvard aircraft had the same pattern on its cowling.

Spitfire - Flying Legends

Flying Legends - the Big Wing

Tankfest and Flying Legends

In this photo gallery you will find images from Tankfest 2016, the world's biggest and best live display of historic armour at The Tank Museum, Bovington. You’ll also find plenty of photos from several Flying Legends Airshows, the world famous aerial spectacular of great classic piston engine fighters, bombers and legendary aircraft from the First and Second World Wars at the iconic Duxford airfield.